Pneumatic action for organs



(ModeL) W. F. COOPER.

PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR ORGANS.

Patented Feb. 6, 1883.

III/IA Iwvewtor UNITED STATES PATENT Orrica.

WILLIAM F. (JOOPER-, OF \VOROESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

PNEUMATIC ACTION FOR ORGANS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,606, dated February 6, 1883.

Application filed June 19,1882. (ModeL) To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, VVILLIAH F. COOPER, of the city and county of \Vorc'ester, State of h'lassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Pneumatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the construction and use of two reciprocating valves, one of them located in a rigid chamber having only two open ngs, one of which is opened and closed by the perforated sheet and the other closed and opened by the action of the valve in the chamber, and the other is a reedwalve, and both are governed in their action by a perforated sheet and designed to operate practically and advantageously without the aid of vents for leakage purposes, auxiliary valves, or puppet-bellows, &c., as heretofore used.

Its nature is fully set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings of the parts embodying my invention.

in said draw ings, Figure 1 is a side view of the two valves, with the adjacent parts shown in section. Fig. 2 shows the parts of the flexiblejoint with a modification; and Figs. 3 and 4 show some modifications which are hereinafter more particularly described.

It is well known that action-valves, when used on the outside of the exhaust reed-board and on the inside of the pressure organ-chest,

o't the air, and therefore a somewhat lighter valve spring or weight can be used for such valves than is necessary with the use of the inside valves of the American exhaust-reed organ or with the outside valves of the harmonium, (pressure-bellows.) Action -valves that open against the direction of the air current or pressure are termed in this specification cling-valves. Devices similar to the roll-up valve and the spring-valve of the Willis pneumatic action have been used in connectionwith blow-bellows pneumatics to still further diminish the amount of force required to lift or open such cling-valves to their limit. The application and adaptation of such devices to the exhaust pneumatics herein described are an essentialin securing a large reduction in the. size of the pneumatics, and yet to operate with sureness and rapidity, and also, in connection with the exhaust, to bring this improved valve-action to the outside ior ease of adjustment and regulation. The valve Gr, Fig. 1, is a valve of this kind, and can he made and operated 011 the YVillis or other known plan, and used in combination with this in'iproved pneumatic as made and used by me. The valve Gr, although in appearance a common valve, is in fact a now, simple, and effective way to secure the above result. The leather clothing on the under surface of the the valve is fastened only at or near the ends, and left unfastened about the length of the valve-mortise. Olothed in this way,it can'be lifted or opened against the air-pressure with much less resistance. for as the wood of the valve is lil'ted the leather clings to the mortise-seat. Then a small port is made at the end of the valve, caused by this twofold action of the leather clinging to the seat by the action ofthe air and the upward movement of the piece to which it is fastened. The port is thus gradually and automatically enlarged as the valve is lifted u n til the leather is all peeled, as it were, 0d the mortise-seat. It can readily be seen that little motor force is required to open this valve.

A is a valve clothed on its under surface with soft leather, and fitted nicely to the valv mortise leading to the wind-chest. Said valve A is hinged at one end and otherwise made to fit well up to the sidesot' the chest B, as close as can be without danger of clogging, so as to impede the free action of the valve. For this purpose the valve may be made somewhat shorter and narrower than the chest and thin leather fastened on the valve, with a projecting feathered edge comingnearly or close to the sides of the chest; or, as an equivalent, a thin sheet of lead can be used, which will accommodate itself to the side of the chest.

The chest B is provided with a port, h, leading to atmosphere, and a port, E, leading to the bellows, and provided with a smooth ledge in the chest B and round the port E for a valve-seat. One end of the chest is furnished with a stopped aperture, leather or rubber cloth being glued to the inside or otherwisev fastened to the outside. Through this the arm 1), attached to valve, passes, with a pin, a, whose ends fit in recesses on the sides, forming a pivot or hinge.-

Fig. 1 of the drawings shows my arrangement for an exhaust-action, the passage E leading to the exhaust, and the reed-chambers R S connect to the same or a separate one, as desired. It is evident that the valve G, instead of being pivoted, as shown, and one end lifted by the arm D, might he fast to arm D and the reed placed horizontally under that end of I). "With the inlet h uncovered, the "alve A is drawn to the mortise-seat hy the exhaust force of the bellows, andwhen inlet it is closed, the valve A being relieved of atmospheric pressure from ahuve by a slight upward movement against the air caused by the action of valve G (operated by the exhaust and by a spring) sutlicient for the exhaust to draw out the air in the chest B, which then allows the free valve A to rise to its limit.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to patent, is-

1. In a musical instrument, the valve Gr, provided with a flexible covering, secured thereto at the extremities only and remaining loose on the interi'nediate parts of the valve, in combination with the valve-seat, as described, and for the purposes set forth.

2. The pneumatic action consisting of the pneumatic chest having the port It, leading to the atmosphere, and port E, leading to the hellows or wind-chest, and containing valve A, pivoted as described and connected to valve G, all constructed and operating as and for the purposes set forth.

WILLIAM F. UOOPE R.

Witnesses:

KicLo WANU, JAS. G. ARNOLD. 

